Thursday, March 6, 2008

Goblins in books and movies!

I recently saw an 80s flick called Labyrinth, which has Jim Henson's trademark stamped all over it. It was pretty cool, very 80s, and littered here and there with puppets that are so ugly, they're cute. Starring Jennifer Connelly as Sarah and David Bowie as Jareth the Goblin King (can you say weird combination?), the film's got the good 80s music there and also a dose of Jennifer's early bad acting. And get a load of Jareth's hair!

What I like about the film, besides the use of puppets and the general look and feel of it, is the sheer courage that made the whiny heroine take the long journey (and make weird friends along the way). The story itself reminds me of a book written by Maurice Sendak. It's probably one of the creepiest-looking books of all time--you hardly see Sendak illustrate THAT realistically!

The book, called Outside Over There, is about a girl losing her little sister to the goblins. And, just like in Labyrinth, she takes a long and tedious journey to get the baby back. Why go through all that hassle for a baby? It's not only the fact that they're going to get in trouble if they don't bring the baby back (although they sure will!), but no matter how annoyed big sisters are of their younger siblings, there's still that love between them that perhaps only siblings share. I guess it's that love that makes even the most complicated labyrinth easier to overcome. That, and the help of the oddest sort of friends, in the person of Jim Henson's puppets.